Provided is a method for producing a nickel powder, whereby it becomes possible to produce a fine nickel powder, which can serve as seed crystals needed for the production of a nickel powder, in an amount needed for the production of the desired nickel powder from a solution containing a nickel sulfate-ammine complex.
A method for producing a nickel powder through: a mixing step of adding insoluble solids that serve as seed crystal and a polyacrylic acid salt or a ligninsulfonic acid salt that serves as a dispersing agent to a nickel sulfate-ammine complex solution to form a mixed slurry; and a subsequent reduction/precipitation step of charging the mixed slurry in a reaction vessel, and then blowing a hydrogen gas into the mixed slurry in the reaction vessel to reduce nickel complex ions in the slurry, thereby forming nickel precipitates on the surfaces of the insoluble solids. The method is characterized in that the amount of the dispersing agent to be added in the mixing step is controlled to control the number of nickel granules produced by the production of the nickel precipitates in the reduction/precipitation step.